NATO ‘de facto’ at war with Russia – Kremlin
NATO is de facto at war with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. According to him, the support the military bloc provides to Ukraine makes it a party to the conflict.
Peskov’s remarks came in response to a statement by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who questioned the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine that would involve NATO troops.
Sikorski argued that Kiev’s Western backers are wary of a direct confrontation with Russia, which has repeatedly rejected any Western military presence in Ukraine, whether as peacekeepers or otherwise. Peskov countered that the US-led military bloc is already involved.
“NATO is at war with Russia. It is obvious and does not require any additional proof,” he said on Monday. “NATO is de facto involved in this war. NATO provides both indirect and direct support to the Kiev regime. Therefore, it can be said with absolute certainty that NATO is at war with Russia.”
At least 41 countries have contributed to Ukraine’s war effort since the conflict escalated in February 2022, either through military, humanitarian, or financial assistance, according to Germany’s Kiel Institute. Most of the support has come from NATO members, with 29 of its 32 states providing funding, as well as weapons systems ranging from armored vehicles, artillery, aircraft, and air defense to drones, missiles, and other equipment.
The US-led military bloc has also been pushing for increased militarization in response to what officials describe as the ‘Russian threat’, pledging to raise defense spending among European NATO members to 5% of GDP. Several officials have claimed that Russia could attack member states once the Ukraine conflict is resolved.
Moscow has dismissed the claims as nonsense, accusing the West of stoking Russophobia to justify soaring military budgets and distract from domestic problems. It has stressed that NATO expansion toward Russia’s borders was one of the main causes of the conflict, and insists that any settlement with Kiev must account for Russia’s security by guaranteeing Ukrainian demilitarization and neutral, non-nuclear status.
